HEAD COACH ROMEO CRENNEL, DEC. 3, 2008
(On preparing a third different quarterback in three weeks)
Well, it would be really difficult except that [Ken] Dorsey has been with us for quite a while. He has a good command of the offense, a good understanding of the offense. So that will make the transition a lot easier. If he hadn't been with us and didn't have the knowledge of the system, then we'd really be scrambling.
(On Ken Dorsey's differences compared to Brady Quinn or Derek Anderson)
Well, the fact that he's been around a little bit longer. He's a smart guy, he will be able to read defenses and get the ball to the open guy. Hey, everybody knows his arm is not as strong as Brady or Derek so we're going to have to maximize his strengths and minimize his weaknesses.
(On if it's tough to develop team consistency when you're constantly changing quarterbacks)
Yes, that is tough to do because everybody now has to get used to a new guy, the way he calls the plays, the way he calls the snap count and the way that he delivers the ball. That's all new. So we have a couple days here to try to work on it to see if we can get it smooth.
(On the injuries the Browns have faced this year)
Well, I could ask you guys to send me a couple players (laughter) but I don't know if you'd do that. Like you say, injuries are a part of the game. Every team has to deal with them and usually they even out over time. Last year we were pretty fortunate that we didn't have many injuries. Everybody stayed healthy, the quarterbacks stayed on their feet and we were able to win 10 games. This year, starting in the preseason guys were getting banged up and they were missing games and missing time and it's continued. It does make it tough when you lose a starter to proceed the way you need to proceed.
(On how quickly they can get Bruce Gradkowski up to speed for Sunday's game)
Well, that's a big challenge. One of the things, he was with the Rams in preseason, their terminology is similar to ours so that's going to help him a little bit. He's been in the book ever since yesterday trying to get the system down and understand some of the basics. We'll put him out there on the field today and see how he looks and hopefully he can progress as the week goes on.
(On if the 10-6 loss to the Colts last week takes the life out of the team or is encouraging because of the effort)
Well, I was encouraged because the guys fought and played really good. It basically came down to one play in the game and that was the difference. So if we continue to fight like that I told them that would give us the best chance.
(On what the season has been like with the ups and downs after last season's success)
It's been a little hectic, probably more so because of the expectation. Everybody expected us to be a good football team, be in the playoff hunt and all that and it hasn't developed the way we wanted it to develop so everybody's a little disappointed. It gets kind of blown out of proportion a little bit more than say if we hadn't won those games last year and the people that thought we weren't any good, then they'd say, "OK, those guys are not any good but they played hard."
(On comparing and contrasting the Titans and Giants)
They have different styles and they go about the way they get things done differently, but the results are the same. When you look at Tennessee, it's a very good football team, a well-coached football team. They play the game with energy, effort, don't make many mistakes, don't beat themselves and they force teams to try and beat them. It's similar to what the Giants put out on the field.
(On what it is about the Titans that gives Jamal Lewis problems)
Do they give him problems? Maybe Jeff [Fisher] devises really good game plans versus Jamal. I'm not exactly sure why that is and I don't know where those games have been played, if they were in Baltimore when he was there or if they've been in Tennessee. But hopefully, if that's the case we can change that.
(On what Kellen Winslow brings to the offense)
Well, I'll tell you what, he brings a competitiveness to the offense. He competes hard all the time. He has ability to stretch the field, has a good set of hands and he creates matchup problems for the defense. That's kind of the way we've used him the most. Now, he's not going to be available to us Sunday so you won't have to worry about him.
(On the best way to utilize a tight end in an offense)
Well, I think that the player has to work into the offensive system and then your system has to try to take advantage of that player's ability knowing that one player alone does not make the team go. It takes everybody involved. One thing I noticed about you guys is you do a good job of spreading the ball around. You get everybody involved. The runners, they run and catch. The tight ends, they are producing. The wide receivers produce. You have to take advantage of the talent that you have and it looks like you guys are doing that.
(On if it's harder to get a tight end involved)
Teams do different things to those kind of players. Where the guy's lined up impacts that, who they have covering the guy impacts that. So you have to take all those factors into consideration.
(On his impressions of Chris Johnson)
Well, I'm really impressed with him to be able to do what he does. The thing that stands out is his speed and his burst. He can accelerate. He can run away from people. He made a jump cut against somebody that I was watching you guys against, he was running and he jumped to his right and then turned those afterburners on and accelerated past people. So that's the thing that really jumps out about him. We had Curtis Martin up in New England and with the Jets and I think he reminds me of Curtis a little bit, probably has more speed.
(On who you have to game plan for on the Titans defensive line aside from Albert Haynesworth)
Well, it's hard to get past Haynesworth because he's so big in there and such a dominant player. As you get past him, the surprising thing is all the rest of the guys are good players also. They all play hard and they play good. We all know what [Jevon] Kearse brings to the table, we know about him. You take [Tony] Brown, now Brown when you watch him play, he's got a motor, he's productive, he makes plays. [Kyle] Vanden Bosch, that guy, you talk about motor, it goes all the time with him. You got [Jacob] Ford in there, he makes plays. The backups even make plays, [Dave] Ball. Now Haynesworth stands out because he's such a physical specimen and he's playing really good. But the rest of those guys are producing as well and that's one of the things that makes that defense so good.
(On if there are scenarios where Joshua Cribbs gets more snaps)
Josh Cribbs, who is he? (laughter) No, we've got some plays for Josh if we need him at quarterback. Primarily, we're going to let him help on special teams because that takes a lot out of a guy and we're not going to put too much of a load on him.
(On what worked defensively against Indianapolis and if that was something different they tried)
Well, it's the same old thing. Hey, we do what we do just like you guys do what you do. We were probably a little bit more patient going into that Indianapolis game knowing that we're facing Peyton Manning and the way that he can throw the ball and the weapons that he had available to him and the runner that he had. We were just a little bit more patient trying to not give up the big play and ended up playing a good game.
(On how he keeps questions about his job security from being a distraction to the team)
Well, I won't let it be a distraction for the players because my job is to coach football and their job is to play football. We still have games left to play so we have to get ready each week to play the game. We got ready last week and we played a good game, came down to one play. We're going to try to get ready this week and play a good game and if it comes down to one play, hopefully we'll make that play to win the game.
(On if it bothers him or his family about the speculation)
No it doesn't do any good. It can't bother you because if it bothers you, you can't do your job.
